Fork. Spoon. Life. | The everyday relationship that local notables have with food

Former dishwasher embraces Door County's seasonal treats

Matt Chambas

Matt Chambas put in countless hours as a dishwasher, dreaming of the day he'd be cooking in a professional kitchen.

After working his way through restaurant kitchens in Madison, Chambas, 31, now lives year-round in Door County, where he is the executive chef at Wickman House, which is open seasonally. For a second year in a row, he'll also be part of the outdoor dining event Outstanding in the Field, held Aug.3 in Door County.

Chambas will be in Milwaukee June 23 cooking a four-course dinner as part of a "Leaders in Local Food" dinner series at Braise, 1101 S. 2nd St.

Cooking as a career

I was living in northern Idaho, actually. I needed a job while I was in school. I started washing dishes. I remember looking down the line and thinking I want to do that someday.

Plus, my mom is an amazing cook and baker. She spends a lot of time every day preparing meals. Growing up, I took it for granted. I never realized how hard she was working. She is a big influence.

I worked for a couple years washing dishes. I came back to Madison and got a job at Harvest, then at Restaurant Muramoto and L'Etoile. Cooking takes a lot of time. You have to have a lot of passion for it.

Family and food

My mom and I actually both worked at L'Etoile for a time. I was a line cook and she was one of the bakers. It was kind of weird, but it worked out.

Mentors

When I was at Harvest Restaurant, I was just a dishwasher. I was about to move up to the line. Justin Carlisle, who now has Ardent, he was the sous chef at the time. He gave me a speech to keep me going.

Also, Shinji Muramoto (of Restaurant Muramoto) was a really big part of my progressing in the culinary field. I might have been one of the last people to work right next to him for over a year. He's an amazingly talented chef.

Then Tory Miller at L'Etoile was the ultimate mentor. That was the biggest steppingstone in my career. I look up to him more than anybody.

Most memorable meal

After I worked at L'Etoile, I came back to eat there. I went in there with my sister. We sat down and realized Tory had been working all day on a nine- or 10-course menu for us. That was an amazing experience.

Off-season adventures

This winter my roommate and I went on a three-week road trip. He's opening a coffee shop and I'm a chef. We went and drank coffee and ate food. We had the best coffee we could find. We stopped in Chicago, Louisville, Nashville and Birmingham. We spent a few nights in New Orleans, traveled through Texas into Austin, spent a little time in New Mexico, Arizona and traveled back. I was taking notes the whole time.

Always on his menu

For Door County, that would definitely be whitefish. We always have a whitefish taco on the menu. People love it. We only take it off the menu for about a month during the season, when they stop fishing. We don't want to source whitefish from an area other than here. Another is our grass-fed Waseda Burger. Waseda Farms created this custom grind No. 9, an even grind of chuck, shortrib and brisket. That burger was featured on "Wisconsin Foodie." People come up looking for that.

Outstanding adventures

We did Outstanding in the Field last year for the first time. They reached out to us again and said it went well, so we'll do it again this year. Sometimes you just have to go for it. I'm not going to lie. We were a little anxious. There were a few curveballs that day. You just have to know to go with the flow.

Foraging favorite

Door County is an amazing place. It has everything an outdoor kind of person wants. I love foraging anything that's edible. We get a lot of mushrooms. I can't explain it scientifically, but the fact we're surrounded by water helps.

We probably picked over 20 different kinds of edible mushrooms last year, and most were served at Wickman House. We have two amazing state parks within 15 minutes of me. You can understand why people come here to vacation.

Favorite flavor

On his off days

You probably won't find me. I'll be deep in the state parks or looking for whatever mushroom is in season.

Experiences of a lifetime

When I worked at L'Etoile, Tory (Miller) and I went to New York a few times to do events. We got to meet all sorts of people I never thought I would have met: Aaron Sanchez, Eric Ripert, Dan Barber. We cooked for Dan Barber at

L'Etoile.

That was a memorable experience.

Why he loves the kitchen

Camaraderie. We don't work harder than anyone else, but it is hard, long days. At the end of the day, it feels like everything was worth it when you come out of it together.

Fresh foraged favorites

My favorite thing, and it will be happening soon, is fresh ramps, fiddlehead, asparagus and morels we pick in the wild. That's got to be the best dish out of the whole year. That's hopefully something I'll be able to take to Braise.

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email nstohs@journalsentinel.com.